The Aurora University Spartan women's basketball team played host to the Eagles from Benedictine University Tuesday night in Thornton Gymnasium. The Spartans and the Eagles battled till the final seconds of the contest, with the Spartans defeating Benedictine 63-58.
The Spartans would begin the contest fired up to play their Northern Athletics Conference rival and go on a 10 point run to lead 10-0, with 17:00 minutes remaining. Benedictine Head Coach Paul Nelson called an early timeout following the AU run which was sparked by Spartan senior guard Jessica Mason's two three-point field goals.
The Eagles would respond over the next three and a half minutes with a 10 point run themselves and tie the contest 10-10 with 13:38 left in the first half.
After each team knocked down another three-point basket each, Benedictine continued their hot streak building an eight point lead with 7:30 to play, 23-15. The Eagles maintained the lead and with 2:30 held a 31-23 lead.
That marked the Spartans first-half comeback as AU scored eight straight points with a three-point field goal each by Mason and senior guard Ashley Daniels and two free-throws by Daniels before BU scored the final basket giving the Eagles the 33-31 lead heading into intermission.
Benedictine was led by junior Tracey Walsh with seven points and junior guard Brittany Armato also added six points, shooting two-of-three from three-point range. Mason led the Spartans with 12 points all coming from behind the arch (four-for-four) and Daniels chipped in nine points of her own and six assists.
The second-half opened up with Benedictine continuing to lead the Spartans during the first five minutes, building a six-point advantage at 44-38. The Spartans once again began to chip away at Benedictine lead and took back the lead on a senior forward Michelle Perry lay-up with 12:13 to play in the contest.
The Eagles regained the lead on their next possession when Michelle Gaede knocked down two free-throws but AU responded immediately when sophomore guard Devin Barth drained a three-point basket from the corner giving the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish over the remaining 11:30.
After a four and a half minute scoring drought by both teams, AU's Mason knocked in another three-point basket giving the Spartans a five-point lead at 51-46. The host Spartans built a six-point lead (58-52) with just over two minutes to play and looked to have the game well in hand but the Eagles would not go away quietly.
The Eagles cut the Spartan lead to two (58-56) after a three-point field goal and a following free-throw but the Eagles couldn't convert the free-throw attempt.
The free-throw contest in the final 30 seconds went the Spartans way with AU converting five-of-six free throws, including four-of-four from Perry while the Eagles couldn't convert on several Spartan turnovers in the final minute.
The Spartans where led by Mason's hot shooting from three-point range (five-of-six) and 15 points, with fellow seniors, Ashley Daniels (14 points and nine assists) and Michelle Perry (12 points and eight rebounds) providing the scoring punch in the victory. BU sophomore guard Colleen Forkin, led all scorers with 18 points and Walsh added 12 points of her own.
With the win, AU is now 5-13 overall and 2-9 in the NAC.
